Opprotunity knocks
by Lavenderpaw
Summary: It's never too late to learn a new trick.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: You didn't think Stitch was always going to stay good, did you?**

- 1955: a small farming town in Kansas.

The rolling crops of yellow were dulled naturally by February's unforgiving gust, it was the day of Valentine's and Angel had chosen to live a life away from Hawaii; as well as a life away from Stitch. He trampled around the hidden brush of the shagged bush area, mumbling to himself as his aging creator was at work building tin towers.

"These will do until we can drive to nearest city," Jumbaa told him, admiring the use of his makeshift workings. "And besides, you've given up on goodness. What point?"

"Yeah," Stitch muttered in agreement, depressed.

"Ah, now 626. The little girl is finally grown and has married her older Hawaiian boy who is friend," He chuckled deeply. "Biggest girl has family of her own now. And to what more do you owe your present time? _Here,_ in this time my first prodigy; you'll be _appreciated _for what you are. Like in black and white movies, you will be feared."

The blue alien smiled encouragingly and then rubbed the scruff of white on his chin.

"And big battle tanks?"

"Yes, _real _earth fire power that is made pacifically to give you a challenge." Jumbaa fed him the knowledge he now craved in his void-filled life. "Think about it. Following what you were created for, 626. You can never get real job because, well, you are too smart for college education and the love of your life --- gone. And you are now alone."

He picked out a framed photo from the pocket of his lab coat and sighed, reliving the moment Pleakey had discovered 'he' was actually a 'she' and they had dated for one another for a very, _very_ short time. Stitch ground his teeth together, flexing his arms.

"Time to get down to business." He grunted, uncoiling his other two blue arms from his lower rib cages and getting ready to slam a punch into a tin wall. "Stitch is ready!"

Jumbaa sighed patiently. "You have grown soft over years of lounging," he said to his irate creation, poking a sagging bag of furry blue flesh. "You will re-start all fitness."

" 'Ih!"

"And who knows?" His quadruplet eyes closed together. "Maybe they will try and to make the peace-offering with an Elvis autograph." He guffawed at this improbability.

Stitch sighed, remembering Lilo and their better days, then turned to his new lifestyle.

– At a local hardware store.

"I'm tellin' you!" The farmer told the bored-looking clerk behind the desk. "Dere was dis flying' surf board come sweeping over my head, my fields and then back yonder."

"Mr. Markesan, is it really necessary for me to call the authorities again?" Her well-manicured hand hovered near the wall phone. "I hear Happy Acres still has a place."

"I'm tellin' ya-!" He fought to climb over the false-oak-paneled front desk. "S'true."

"Hold on, hold on. There's someone coming in." She waved pleasantly to a grey coat-clad, derby-hat-wearing individual, glad someone had a bit of taste. "Sir, need help?"

The shadowy-faced man turned her way, shook his head and then proceeded down an aisle. "Saw… saw…" Stitch said under his breath. He had not yet decided how far he intended to go with his decision to start down his original path. "Jumbaa need a saw."

His eyes roamed carefully down the brands on sale. When at last they stopped on the one that looked about right, Stitch heard the strangest swish sound. He perked up his ears and turned to listen down the other aisle. Chi-chu, chi-chu, chi-chu, it was going.

"Hmm."

Stitch, in his moment of being side-tracked, scaled up the plastic tan shelves and then peered through the peg-holed wall to take in a rather interesting sight. A little girl was making a jangling silver coil contort down a pile of boxes; ones filled with other ones.

"A slinky, a slinky." She sang quietly to herself.

He cocked his head, intrigued at her display of genuine enjoyment of the simple toy.

Had there ever been a time when he was that wonder-minded as well?

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

I.

,

"Slinky?" The partially bipedal alien spoke.

,

"It's fun for a wonderful toy…" Alyssa, the little girl her father had called her, sang now.

,

Stitch wrinkled his nose, licked over it to create a slick slather of saliva-mucus mix, then turned back to the project at claw. But, as he started over for the tools shelve on the aisle, a shiver of anticipation ran down his spine. Stitch grit his teeth and turned his undivided attention back to the little pin-thin hole of the plastic tan wall. He waited for a while, his liquid blue eyes following the up and down cha-cling- cha-clink of the silver wiry device.

,

"Eh…" The martian hesitated as the suit-wearing father boxed the toy up and a ho-hum-looking, inventory-taking man started packing up the rest and placing them on the shelf.

,

He hopped over the separated pathways easily and landed spottily behind a boxed wall of baby dolls. With the departing tone of voices being used and the small ring of the bronze-colored tinker bell hanging above the entrance, Stitch crossed the limited space behind all of the little girl's toys and then made his way over in what he considered a big discovery.

,

How could a piece of springy tin bring so much joy to someone?

,

"Hmm." Stitch considered it. He rubbed his chin and circled it a few times. There was not any real thing special about it; it was just a regular-looking piece of metal in a box carton.

,

Still intrigued, Stitch picked it up and shook it. The piece of metal rattled inside. He let a small grin cross his face and shook it again. The rattling reminded him of his first and to Stitch the best Christmas he had ever had with his new family. He recalled the excited, lit –up expression on Lilo's face whenever she would open a present; her excited proclaims.

,

Feeling a little bit teetered off from his original path, Stitch placed the box gently back on the shelf and brushed off his musty blue fur that he figured must have come from the very back of the doll boxes. He started back over the shelves and then was about to climb over the space between the boxes and plastic blockade when he realized something disturbing. The movable area inside of the packaged toys and the tan wall was without dust blemish.

,

"Where is 626?" Jumba complained as he paced back and forth. He shook his head; leave it to his creation that couldn't choose a clear-cut path to follow to get distracted from his evil-geniusing. The large alien made a grunt of impatience and then headed on into town.

,

People turned gawking eyes on the blue-furred creature as he raced down the dirt trail, if it was because they coveted his free-wheeling amusement at the simplistic toy or if they all just couldn't phantom how a dog could run upright Stitch didn't know, nor did he let himself care that much of what they thought. He scampered down another turn and was surprised to find the little girl Alyssa from before turning to go up into a story-tale, and four story-tall home. His ears swerved up in anticipation of this, and for the first time in the ten years since he had settled down with Angel, Stitch felt ready for a new adventure.

,

To be continued…

**AN: **And yes, for anyone wondering, I am taking this story in an unusual direction. ;)


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